Final Results
STARKVILLE, MISS. – In its first match of consecutive contests against top 15-ranked Southeastern Conference opponents this weekend, the Samford University men's tennis team dropped a 7-0 decision Saturday on the road against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in a nonconference duel held at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
“I feel we played a very competitive match overall today, and I am very pleased at the way that we competed," said Samford head coach
Rahim Esmail. "Mississippi State is a very good team. They play with a lot of discipline and a lot of intensity, and this was a great opportunity for us to improve as a team. I feel we were able to do just that today."
With the loss,
Samford (4-3) moved to 1-1 against SEC foes this season. Earlier this year, the Bulldogs traveled to Tuscaloosa, Ala., and posted a historic 4-3 road victory at No. 45-ranked Alabama.
In the Bulldogs' momentous triumph over the Crimson Tide, Samford ended a 31-match losing streak against Alabama, dating all the way back to May 5, 1961, when the school was named Howard College. Therefore, it was the Bulldogs' first win over the Crimson Tide in nearly 52 years.
On Sunday, Samford will continue its string of matches against nationally-ranked opponents as the Bulldog play host to the No. 7-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at 10 a.m. (CST) at the state-of-the-art Samford Tennis Complex.
With Saturday's win,
Mississippi State (9-2) remained undefeated at home this season and bounced back from a difficult 4-2 loss against arch-rival Ole Miss on Sunday.
Samford nearly pulled off the win in doubles play Saturday as the Bulldogs' tandem of
Zac Dunkle and
Garrison Laduca defeated Mississippi State's 13
th-ranked pairing of Jordan Angus and Malte Strop, 8-6, on court No. 1. With their key victory against one of the top teams in the nation, Samford's doubles pairing improved to 2-0 this season.
The critical doubles point came down to court No. 3 where Mississippi State's duo of Romain Bogaerts and Pedro Dumont held off Samford's combination of
Fares Kilani and
Alex Sajonz, 8-6.
Mississippi State took the early 1-0 lead in the match by clinching the doubles point. The homestanding Bulldogs then earned victories on all six singles courts to claim the final 7-0 win.
"Our win at No. 1 doubles today was one of the, if not the, best individual wins that we have had in our program," Esmail said. "Getting a win over a top 15 ranked doubles team in the country is a great achievement for us. We learned a lot today and gained a lot of positive experiences from this match. Tomorrow will be the same, as we face a top-five caliber team in the Kentucky Wildcats. We are looking forward to another great opportunity and experience to compete with one of the best programs in the country.”
The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Sunday at 10 a.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs play host to the seventh-ranked Kentucky Wildcats in a historic home contest to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.
Kentucky (10-2) is coming off a thrilling 4-2 come-from-behind victory against No. 6 Georgia last week in the final day of action at the prestigious ITA National Indoor Championships inside the Nordstrom Tennis Center on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash.
Final Results
